The Threads Tighten Around Us
by NexusTehULF0o
Summary: As one sews, two threads, once independent and separated from the other, slowly bond together to create a beautiful cloth…the game of love is none too different. Sheelos.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Threads Tighten Around Us**

**Author: NexustehULF0o**

**Description: As one sews, two threads, once independent and separated from the other, slowly bond together to create a beautiful cloth…the game of love is none too different. Sheelos. **

**Rating: T just for safety – you never know what Zelos is going to come up with next.

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**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TALES OF SYMPHONIA. Believe me, I spend countless hours and days wishing on countless stars that I'll wake up and it'll be mine so I can rewrite it the way I want it. :D

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**Nexus: So, I watched the Princess and the Frog. Yeah, Disney movie, past the whole "have no life, hopeless romantic" thing - every Sheelos fan should watch that movie and the come back and tell me what you think of the characters. :3 **_**~Sheena Fujibayashi**_** and I were talking about it and I said I felt inspired to write a multi-chaptered deal. :D So here it is. Forgive me/bug me if I go into lapses, but I'll try really hard to keep up with this. Enjoy~**

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~Chapter One~

"It's a wonder you let me do _anything_ with you. I didn't know you had taken on a new, more pacifistic leaf." The redhead Chosen poked his nose in through the ninja's wandering thoughts, causing her to shake her head to quickly comprehend and conjure a response to the statement.

"Stop it." She muttered before looking downward, gasping, and unintentionally grasping the Chosen's waist a little tighter. "I have to be strong for my people, so I can't take ridicule easily. Especially from you."

"I mean, I wasn't ridiculing you." Zelos mused, causing his companion to roll her eyes. "In fact, I don't think I was being any more particularly annoying than I've ever been."

The expression on the ninja's face was so drolly accusing it nearly sent the Chosen into a fit of gut-wrenching laughter.

"All right, all right, I get it – just don't stare a hole through the back o' my head, mkay?" He smirked, returning his vision to the open air in front of them both. Sheena turned her head away, nervously biting her bottom lip as she returned her gaze downward once more.

"So, why'd you go to see the King today anyway…?" The Chosen once again attempted slipped conversation into their Rheiard ride, causing Sheena to slow down even more in the process of catching her train of thought, which was barreling down the tracks at an amazing speed.

"It's a long story." She mumbled, glancing up at him.

"We won't be there for a while." He suggested, possibly making telling the story seem more enticing than having him bug her about it the entire ride back.

Sheena merely sighed.

"All right…" She mumbled, adjusting her position on the Rheiard's meant-for-one places for feet.

* * *

"Chief!"

The word was called, but no one answered.

A bamboo door slid its way open, quietly hitting the stopper afterward. A man clad in a blue ninja uniform entered, taking off his boots before doing so.

"Chief. Permission to enter your quarters." He said sternly, standing erect in the air.

"You can come in, Orochi. Grandfather's not here." A voice called from the other side of a thin wall, also made from tan bamboo.

Orochi smiled, stepping into the room where Sheena Fujibayashi sat, looking over a fair-sized about of parchment. She looked up upon his entry, smirking at her comrade.

"Actually, I was referring to you." He mumbled through chuckles.

Sheena shook her head, returning her gaze to the papers she had stacked in front of her.

"Would you stop that? You know I'm not the Chief yet. There's still the formal ceremony and…and you know, all that stuff."

Orochi chuckled. "Merely one more thing to get used to, Sheena." He mentioned, watching the female roll her brown eyes at him.

"I guess so." She snickered as well, shaking her head before sighing the idle chatter away. It was quiet for a moment, the blue-clad ninja cocking his head to watch his childhood friend curiously.

"Sheena, is something troubling you…?" he queried, placing both hands in his lap. The female quickly glanced up, as if mentally wondering how he could have known. She then shifted her head away, returning her gaze to the floor.

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing." She mumbled, twiddling her thumbs in her own lap.

"…All right."

Orochi donned a knowing look, watching Sheena from the corner of his eye and mentally counting down until she relinquished her problem. She wasn't good at holding in her internal pain anymore.

"Well, it's just that…I overheard some of the people talking." She mumbled, unconfident. She twirled little patterns in a little hill of dirt someone had tracked in with her pinky finger, staring at said patterns intently as if it would tell her the secret of the world. She glanced up at Orochi, only to quickly return her vision downward when she saw he was watching her.

"Who?" He asked politely, leaning slightly forward.

"N-no one of any concern!" She stammered loudly while waving her hands in front of her. "The point is that they were talking. About me." She mumbled, returning to her depressed state. "Orochi, what if I'm not good enough to be the chief? It seems like I'm always hearing the people talking about how young and inexperienced I am. I've never really been a leader before…so…I don't…"

"Nonsense." Orochi stated this word quite sternly in interruption, sitting up straight.

"What?' She asked quietly, looking into his dark brown eyes that were currently staring holes through her.

"I may not have been on that journey with you, Sheena. But I know that you were one of the main things that held that group of people together. You were the main reason they all came to Tethe'alla in the first place. Without your help, they never would have known that Tethe'alla even existed. You were the bridge, Sheena. You made it happen. Think – if you were never to have gone to Sylvarant, the Chosen of Sylvarant and her party never would have tried to set the two worlds straight. She probably would have died. And then the Chosen of our world, and even more Chosens after that. YOU were the deciding factor. You saved countless lives. If anyone can lead Mizuho to greatness, Sheena, it's undoubtedly you."

When the ninja fell silent, he watched his partner, who was carefully staring back at him. Her chocolate brown pupils gazed curiously into his, wondering where all of that might have come from. Orochi turned a light scarlet at the realization of his ramblings, glancing away from the young woman and pulling the blue cloth he usually wore as part of his normal attire up over his nose.

"Maybe you should find a way to make sure that they will trust you to make the right decisions." He suggested, detached. The solution faded as the two of them sat in silence, Sheena becoming more infatuated with the idea than she let Orochi see.

"Yeah, think of a way to win them over…all right, I'll do it! I have to see the King tomorrow anyway," She nodded, standing up from her seat on the floor. "I'll think it over while I'm in Meltokio for a few days." She smiled down at her companion, her reassuring childhood friend.

"Thanks Orochi." She managed, looking away quickly.

"Wait." Orochi started, staring after her as she moved toward the door. Sheena stopped moving, turning to look at the male ninja.

"Yeah?" she inquired, placing a hand to her hip. She carefully blew a couple strands of jet-black hair from her face before returning her eyes to him.

"Why…Meltokio?" He asked, cocking his head slightly to the left. "What's there?"

"Well…" The heir to the Igaguri style thought out loud, looking to the floor. "I have to tell the King about the replacement of Chiefs. I want to formally introduce myself as the Chief of Mizuho." She nodded.

Orochi nodded as well, although he stared past her for a brief moment.

"Ah." He mused faintly, lifting his head a little bit. He flashed her a small smile. "You better be going then."

Sheena stared for a moment before agreeing, packing her things, and leaving for Meltokio.

* * *

Zelos' body shifted slightly, causing her mild fear of heights to whip her heart into a fluttered mixture of pulses. She scrambled to grab substantial hold of her companion, cautiously eyeing the scenery below her.

"So you went to formally introduce yourself as Chief of Mizuho." He reiterated, glancing back at her with a slightly surprised expression when she gripped his waist tighter. She, looking upward at him for a brief moment, stretched her face into a grimace of sorts, as if remembering something sour.

"That's right. And you just happened to catch me there." She answered in mockery of her company's happy, upbeat tone.

"That's my perfect timing, though! My instincts can always direct me to a beautiful woman, whether I know it or not!" She could almost feel him smirking.

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely it..." She rolled her eyes away from him. One would think that with being so high up, Zelos and his ego would about level out in height…

* * *

"Sheena Fujibayashi, requesting a assembly with the King of Tethe'alla." The purple-clad ninja crossed her arms over her chest and bowed low for the leftmost guard standing outside of the King's palace. The man grunted, stepping away from the large, golden door to pull it open and allow her inside.

The main hall that led to the King's throne had not changed since she had last seen it – expensive red carpets, long, luxurious balconies, costly, yet eye-catching decorations dappling the walls and ceilings…Large marble pillars guided her up to two massive, jewel-studded chairs, which were…strangely unoccupied. Upon realizing this, Sheena slowly scanned the room, curiously searching for where the King might have been. If he were not present at the time, the guards would have known it. Could they have let her in anyway? If so, she really hadn't know that there was so much trust between the Royal Lineage and the people of Mizuho…

Leaning to the side, she looked past the large thrones, only to find as much as she had before. The King was nowhere to be found.

"Your Majesty…?" She called out, her rather timid voice echoing throughout the large room.

No response.

"Your Majesty?" She called a little louder, but there was still silence.

Where could he have gone, she wondered. She glanced over to either side of the thrones to ask one of the guards stationed there, but…

Turning around, Sheena suddenly realized there were no guards in the main hall. Normally, they oversaw his every move, making sure that he was safe from any harm possible. But now, the hall was empty.

…_Something's not right_, she thought, glancing about suspiciously. _Something's really off._

Suddenly, her sensitive hearing picked up muffled voices coming from behind one of the doors leading into the hall. They sounded quite jubilant from what she could decipher. It could just be the King and his guards, back from some sort of informal meeting or something…

…

But this didn't stop her from being cautious. It could very well be trouble – trouble in the form of two thieves that had kidnapped the King and were now laughing as they spoke about stealing his money and valuable items–

Wait, hold on - what was she thinking? Sheena shook her head, ridding herself of such an insane thought. The King's men had this place guarded from every angle – they would know if someone got in, or out with any stolen items, for that matter.

…

But then again, if the knights didn't know about it, it must have been a well-hidden inside job. Possibly two high-ranking bandits that snuck into the palace dressed as knights or as one of the King's many indentured servants. Then, at the most well-planned and least-expected moment, they would come out, offering the King wine or informing him of the status of the palace, when in truth, they would knock him out and hide him while they stole his precious jewels.

It was almost the perfect plan. No one would ever know, and if she didn't act soon, they would get away with it.

Sheena slid into a straighter, more catlike position, poising herself to strike. Backing herself up against one of the marble pillars, she attempted to blend in as best she could in her lavender ninja garb. She could almost hear them talking now…

"…cess Hilda will be next on our list of concerns." A deep, manly voice entered, their footsteps growing louder as the two proceeded down the hall.

"Whaddya mean?" The other, a decidedly less deep, but still masculine voice asked. This one sounded vaguely familiar to Sheena…maybe one of the former Papal Knights?

"Well, she _is_ the next in line for the throne. She's the kingdom's only heir."

Sheena listened carefully. It seemed they were planning their next attack – Princess Hilda. They'd take her next. And then hold both her and the King ransom for all of Tethe'alla's money. They'd get away safely – but little did they know, Sheena Fujibayashi was going to stop them right in their tracks. It was her part of her job, you know, as soon-to-be new Chief of Mizuho and all.

"…hen that happens, we'll be in perfect shape." Concluded voice-number-one confidently. The footsteps were almost to the door now.

"Ah, yeah, strike while the iron's hot, right?" Added voice-number-two. They both laughed.

The door creaked open slowly, Sheena pouncing from her hidden position, drawing her cards, and lunging skillfully at the closest thief.

"Pyre Seal –!"

The announcement of her attack came to a sharp halt when she realized that her imagination had gotten the best of her. Sighing heavily, she lowered her guard.

" – Pinion."

Inches from the face of his attacker, Zelos Wilder grinned, glancing to the King of Tethe'alla that had stopped beside him.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Sheena."

* * *

"For the last time, I thought you were burglars! From the way you were talking about Princess Hilda, I thought you were gonna kidnap her like I thought you had kidnapped the King." Sheena explained, fervently trying to make her runaway imagination sound the least bit believable. It was true, and yet every time she said it, Zelos would have that same "Uh-huh, sure." expression.

"Why would there be bandits in the castle, Sheena…?" He asked sarcastically, shaking his head. "Why would anyone even let them in?"

"I don't know! All I knew was that the King wasn't there and that I heard people coming down the hall. I had to think the worst." Sheena retaliated. "It might have just been you, but you all would have been thanking me had it actually been burglars…" Her voice trailed off into a mumble.

Zelos simply laughed at her pitiable attempt at persuasion. "I guess so," he mused under his breath. He then scratched the back of his head and sighed. "In any case, we'll be there soon. See? That didn't take long, did it?" He smiled.

She smirked maliciously in reply. "Hah, as long as I feel like I'm spending as little time as I can with you, then I'm fine." He told him bluntly.

Zelos hung his head, faux depression crashing over him like the crest of a large tsunami. "So cruel…" He mumbled dejectedly.

All of a sudden, the Rheiard jerked, jolting the two to the left. Sheena clutched the pilot's waist, planting her feet.

"Stop it, you Idiot Chosen! You're going to make us fall!" She snapped angrily.

"Hahah, that's what you get for being – uh, what?" The Chosen stopped in the middle of his sentence, glancing about the control board worriedly.

"That didn't sound good!" Sheena replied anxiously, standing straighter to look over Zelos' shoulder while fighting with his wild, windblown red hair. "What did you say that for?"

"Uhm…the Rheiard just…shut off."

Slowly, the mechanism began falling earthward; panic ensued.

"What did you DO?" Sheena cried out, trying to keep her balance.

"I didn't do anything!" He retorted while pressing various buttons and smacking the Rheiard itself. "It all of a sudden just turned off!"

"Well, turn it back on!"

"What does it LOOK like I'm DOING?"

Zelos, as best he could while quite literally "falling out of the sky", attempted to reboot the aircraft. His leg slid back, whit boot stomping on a pedal while he held down a lever attached to one of the handlebars. The Rheiard made a groaning noise, but continued to fall.

"It's not working!"

"WHAT YOU MEAN IT'S NOT WORKING?!"

"It's not rebooting! We're falling too fast- it's not catching enough mana particles for it to start!"

Sheena looked down, watching the rapidly approaching forest below them.

"We're gonna crash!" She cried out, holding on tight to him.

Zelos glanced downward before sighing heavily. He picked up his companion and slung her over his back, jumping from the machine.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT?! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!"

"Calm down! Will you just trust me?" He called out, keeping a firm hold on her legs and attempting to breathe through the death grip she had around his neck.

"YOU JUST JUMPED OFF OF OUR RHEIARD AND NOW WE'RE PLUMMETING TOWARDS THE GROUND DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

_THUMP._

Zelos' boots collided with a thick branch of a tree, and he lunged off of it, falling onto another branch below it. The pair slowly rocked back and forth, Zelos gaining his balance on the tree limb by using the arch of his boots as a sort of fulcrum.

The two cautiously gazed upward, watching the falling Rheiard scrape and snap various tree limbs before hitting the ground with a large, sudden, metallic crash. Black smoke billowed from the aircraft, signaling its defeat.

"Well, this sucks." Zelos muttered after a long moment.

"Um, Zelos, this branch, it's…" Sheena looked downward at the branch they were now standing on, cautiously biting on her bottom lip.

"Hahah, see? I'm pretty good at this ninja stuff, Sheena!" Zelos, not listening of course, exclaimed excitedly while steadily keeping his balance on the tree limb. He glanced over his shoulder at the ninja on his back, who was less than enthused. "Heh, if I joined the ninjas in your village, I think I'd be pretty good! I think I could make a pretty sexy ninja too, if I do say so mys –"

CRRRRRRACK.

"…Wha?"

"Yeah, some ninja."

The limb snapped.

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**Nexus: I don't know what it is, but I've always pictured Sheena as having a fear of heights – I forget if she actually had one or not…I mean, when it's either someone gets killed or she goes high up, she'll go high up, but when it's just for the "fun" of it, I think she'd be a little terrified. But she never used to be afraid on the Rheiards in the game… I don't know. **

**I REALLY like reviews. :3 Just sayin'.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: The Threads Tighten Around Us**

**Author: NexustehULF0o**

**DISCLAIMER: I STILL DO NOT OWN TALES OF SYMPHONIA. Maybe one day I'll save up the money and buy it. But for right now, nothing. :3

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**Nexus: Well, checking in again, trying to come up with this at some kind of interval…Enjoy Chapter Two!

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~Chapter Two~

Large-branched trees oversaw the peaceful forest, occasionally dropping autumn-colored leaves that blew in the light breeze. It had started to get colder at night as the season progressed more into winter – longer nights where the full moon would turn this peaceful wood into something out of a horror story…wolves would howl off in the distance and owls would hoot lowly, as if warning you to retreat.

But thankfully, the sun had only just started to set.

"Well, I can tell you one thing."

Sheena Fujibayashi's brown eyes fluttered open, frantically taking in her surroundings.

If she was dead, and Zelos was here too, then she DEFINITELY didn't end up where she thought she was going to.

But then her brain worked its way to full attention.

"I am _certainly_ liking where this is heading."

An ear-to-ear smirk plastered itself on the nicked, blood-flecked face of the Chosen, who, now simply straddling her, had shielded her from the harm of falling through the tree brush. Of course he'd gotten cut by branches and scraped by pointy ends of limbs himself, but she…she was unscathed.

…That didn't make up for the fact that he was straddling her.

And smiling.

She firmly placed her hands on his chest, forcefully pushing him from atop her with an unwilling "Oof!" on his part.

"Hey, what was that for, Sheena?" He asked bitterly, rubbing the back of his head after reaching a sitting position. "What kinda thanks is that for saving your life?" He winced when his hand passed over a large bump he received while falling out of the tree.

Sheena, now standing, swirled around to face him. "Yeah, well, look at the idiot who got us stuck here in the first place!" She retaliated, extending her hands on either side of her as if to intimidate. "If you hadn't rocked the Rheiard, I'd be in Mizuho right now! Not stuck in the middle of nowhere with some idiot who can't even tell a…a… I don't even know anymore!" She shook her head, letting her hands fall and slap against her thighs in frustration. She turned away again, looking towards the Rheiard that now lay in pieces on the forest floor. She walked purposefully over to it before scanning the machine intently.

Zelos, staring after her, sighed and stood, brushing off his puffy white pants. Running his fingers through his red hair, he stepped forward until he was adjacent to his accompaniment, looking at her from the corner of his left blue eye.

"So what's the consensus…? Think it can be repaired?" He asked, clutching the fragments of Sheena's earlier mood for dear life. The ninja placed her hands on her hips, annoyed, but not willing to whack him over the head with a stray piece of metal just yet.

"I _really _don't feel like talking to you right now." She mumbled, still surveying the Rheiard's battered frame.

"Aw, come on, Sheena – I've done stupid things before, and you've forgiven me eventually. Why don't we just skip the 'eventually' part?" He smiled sweetly, hoping that she would look.

"Heh, how about not?"

She didn't.

He stopped grinning, folded his arms, and looked upward. "Hey, it's not like it's ALL my fault. You were provoking me and I –"

"Nope." She said loudly, standing erect, but her hands still firmly placed on her hips. "Looks like it's busted."

"Sheena, I mean, I'm sure that if we just get one of your ninja scout-y guys to come around –" He glanced over at her. She was a _ninja, _I mean, come on! She should _know _that people tend to lurk around in creepy forests at dusk! What's she doing, going and revealing their position for?

"Hm…" Sheena continued to talk loudly, walking away from the Rheiard, and from him. She kept her head down, taking big flamboyant strides.

Oh, he got it now.

She was ignoring him. Blatantly ignoring him.

"All _right, _Sheena! You can stop ignoring me now~!" He sang, waving his arms.

"Well," The ninja surveyed, "since it's almost dark, I think I'm going to camp here for the night."

"Camp _here?_" The Chosen whined, slowly walking after her. "I thought you wanted out of here! Sheena, you seriously need to learn to make up you're mind – you're giving me, like, mixed signals and I don't know whether you want to go home or stay here or - " Although she wasn't looking towards him, he lifted his hands an began gesturing between them, as if giving her a diagram to look at.

"Maybe since SOME PEOPLE have lived in a city almost their entire lives and wouldn't know how to survive one minute in the forest on their OWN, with or WITHOUT having stayed outside during the Journey of World Regeneration, they should stop COMPLAINING and actually get their asses OVER HERE so the people who DO KNOW how to survive in the forest can HELP THEM."

The look on her face when she turned to him – simply put, it was the closest to Niflheim that Zelos ever wanted to come.

He nodded sharply, walking towards Sheena in a timely manner.

* * *

A purple-clad ninja poked a small, twig-like stick into the now-smoldering fire, as if tending to the already flaming wood, but taunting the fire with more as well. She stared intently into the flames, reluctantly reminded of a certain red-haired menace sitting across from her. As if in the doghouse, the Ex-Chosen of Tethe'alla watched her sadly, his hair covering his cerulean blue eyes that seemed to only reflect light pleasantly when staring her direction. She didn't dare look at him any more – she was only feeding his ego, in essence. One look could mean anything in the eyes of Zelos Wilder.

Her gaze softened. Maybe she shouldn't have yelled at him so much. He was just joking around…and she was playing too, so she shouldn't blame him ENTIRELY…

"Hey, I'm sorry about…"

They both stopped, snapping their gaze to each other – one looking surprised and the other confused.

"…mouthing off and getting mad at you for a stupid reason…"

"…being a jerk and an idiot and rocking the Rheiard and crashing it and getting us into this mess…"

Zelos trailed off, leaving the two of them in silence. They stared quietly at each other, not shifting an inch.

Someone snerked. It was probably Sheena, judging by the smirk now plastered across her face.

The two both burst out into laughter, mending the wounds that had ensued between them earlier.

* * *

"Zelos…wake up."

The redhead Ex-Chosen turned the opposite way, breathing in heavily through his nose.

"Zelos…!"

She shook him lightly, but he didn't wake.

"Zelos - "

"Hmwhathuh? I'm awake!" He stammered, light flooding into his eyes upon his eyelids uncovering them. Zelos sprung upward, almost slamming his head into his 'alarm clock'.

Sheena backed away quickly to avoid knocking heads with the Chosen, scowling when he turned and looked at her. He smirked boyishly, silently reminding her that he would rather remain alive for the time being.

"It's morning." She told him, looking toward the sun with a sigh.

"Guh, already?" He moaned, sitting up properly before leaning back on one of his hands and yawning. "I barely got any sleep – the ground is so cold and wet and just plain icky…"

Sheena stood while taking everything the twenty-two-year-old said with a figurative aspirin.

"Yeah, well," She started, brushing off her clothes. "If we're going to make it out of here, we need to find some food. Before you woke up, I strayed away from camp to see how deep we were into the brush…" Upon seeing Zelos' frightened expression, she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, grow up. You're really scared of being alone for five minutes? I don't think bears or wolves could find you that fast, if they didn't find you all night." She muttered, placing her hands on her hips.

"Sheenaaaaa…" Was all the Chosen could muster, hanging his head.

"Anyway," She looked up from her accompaniment. "I moved about two-hundred paces in every direction, and the trees still went on for as far as I could see. Looks like the Rheaird decided it wanted to drop us smack-dab in the middle of this forest."

"Aw, really? This sucks." Zelos commented, taking a moment for a massive upper-body stretch and a large, exaggerated grunt before standing.

"Royally." Sheena agreed. "So, we'll have to rely on Mother Nature for what we need. Keep a sharp lookout for shelters we can stay in - with this wind picking up, there's almost certain to be rain."

With that, the ninja set off, into the forest brush.

"Rain?" Zelos whined, trailing dejectedly off after her. "How could there possibly be rain? Oh, great…"

As the mouthy red-haired man followed the scary ninja woman into the woods, he turned his back to a massive tree stalk, as to be sure not to be seen.

They could be the ones she had been talking about.

_What do you think, Andreyella? _He thought, placing his hands to the bark of one of the many sturdy-trunked trees in the forest. _Are they who you're looking for? Are they the ones you need me to take care of?_

_

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_**Nexus: Chapter 2. :D I've been busy, but I still found time to finish this...now, for chapter 3. :D**

**Please review? :3  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: The Threads Tighten Around Us**

**Author: NexustehULF0o

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**DISCLAIMER: NO OWNAGE.

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**Nexus: All right, so…I was suddenly, like, re-inspired to write Sheelos again…I don't know, maybe seeing Lintaa's pictures on Verbal Irony (community) just did it. Those were SUCH good pictures! :D I just wanna…stare at them for a really long time…if that's not creepy. **

**Anyways, Chapter 3 is up! I'm so surprised that this took such a short time! :D Enjoy!

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"Sheena, I'm tired…and my knee hurts…"

The whimpering of a certain redhead echoed throughout the lonely tree stalks into the depths of the forest.

A bird, mildly annoyed at the sound of the loud noise, ruffled its feathers and took flight with an abrupt caw.

The purple-clad ninja silently seethed, tightening her fingers into fists in order to restrain herself from coiling them around her companion's neck. Zelos currently ambled miserably behind her, constantly complaining about something or another.

Sheena suddenly felt like a mother she'd seen at the Altamira amusement park – the children crying and whining while hanging off of their sad, annoyed mother.

The weight of Zelos hanging off of her was getting to be too much to bear.

"We've been walking…_all day_. Can't we rest? I mean, the sun's starting to set…man, I'm so hungry…and my hair's still wet…" He grumbled, hanging his head and wrapping his arms about his stomach before pitifully hunching over a bit.

Sheena's own stomach rumbled at the mention of hunger. It was true – they never _had _found food to eat that she didn't deem poisonous or inedible. They had just continued walking in the supposed direction of Mizuho – said continuous walking, without the accompaniment of someone who could uphold a decent conversation, was starting to frustrate and confuse her as well.

Zelos. He'd been whining almost as much as they had been wandering. Shortly after they left their camp with the Rheaird, he began mumbling about his hunger and various pains he had from walking, and the rain that had come and passed, drenching them both in the process. She found it no less that completely and totally aggravating, but it was the only thing she could do. She couldn't leave him here – he'd die alone in this forest by himself, funny as she thought that would be. And Zelos had proved to be good company in the past, although rarely.

Maybe if she complied with his complaints, maybe he'd rest a little more soundly and not be so cranky when morning rolled around again. And of course, being well-rested, he'd be less likely to whine.

Anything to make him shut up. He was seriously driving her crazy.

On this thought, the ninja swirled around to face her companion, who stopped mid-moan and locked his ocean blue eyes with hers. He gazed at her weakly and innocently, as if he'd been malnourished all his life.

A clever ruse, yes.

But she'd seen it before.

"All right, already!" She cried out, placing her hands on her hips. "Will you quit your whining if we st - "

A creak of stretching wood caused the ninja's sentence to come to a screeching halt.

Unfortunately, Zelos didn't get the memo.

"Uhm, Sheena? What are you…"

She hushed him.

Stray crackles from the wood caused her to step behind Zelos and survey the area.

She was positive she just heard…the drawing of a bow.

Oh shit.

"Look out, you idiot!"

Something rushed through the air with a loud, piercing whistle as Sheena darted in front of him, causing the Chosen to swirl around and leap away in reflex.

Suddenly, pain shot up her leg, and it began to tingle slightly as she wobbled on and off of it. Simultaneously, something fast and white was frightened from the bushes beside them, it bounding away from the scene at an amazing speed.

"Sheena!" Zelos bolted towards her as her legs finally gave out, skidding to his knees in order to catch her in his arms.

Her vision blurred to basic colors and movement…she noticed something moving toward her at a brisk pace…what, what was it…?

"Sheena…" Zelos mumbled, cradling her carefully.

"Sheesh, be more careful…idiot…" She slurred, unsure of what was happening.

Her head lobbed toward her chest, hearing Zelos call her name once more as everything faded to black.

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Her eyes fluttered open.

She was alone.

At first, her eyes were completely blurred. She lifted her head, looking about frantically as to affirm where she was.

Her eyes focused, and she brushed away the drenched black bangs that clung desperately to her face.

It was raining again.

Great.

Sheena sat up, noticing that she was draped in a thick blanket.

Where did Zelos get this, she wondered.

Her ears picked up talking close by. One was a very, very deep voice that she didn't recognize…and another, well, she wouldn't mistake _his_ voice again. She leaned in the direction of the voices, listening to figure out what they'd been talking about, only to have a sharp pain sear through her right leg. Sheena hissed, grasping it before throwing the blanket off.

The wound was dressed over her leggings – bandages mummified her lower thigh tightly, blood mixed with rainwater soaked the bind.

_She _was soaked as well, which wasn't surprising.

"Look, man…I don't care if you 'overshot the rabbit' or whatever – you still hit her with your arrow. And that's inexcusable. I can't let you get away with it." Zelos said very clearly over the pitter-patter of rain.

She stifled a laugh. Inexcusable, huh…

"Hey, hey…" The other voice replied defensively. "I really didn't mean to shoot `er…I really did overshoot my rabbit. It dashed off when I came running."

Leaves crunched in the distance, muffled by the rain that was continuing to pick up.

"Listen, asshole." Zelos voice suddenly became very harsh – she'd only heard that tone a few times before. "I promised myself that nothing, and I mean, NOTHING, would ever happen to Sheena. EVER. Not while I'm around. She threw herself in front of your arrow to protect me. You hurt her before I could get to her. So I can't screw up again, you understand me? I _can't _let you get away with this. So that's why you're going to direct us out of this forest. Okay?"

"C'mon, let's not…"

"_OKAY?" _

Sheena never knew about _that _promise Zelos made.

"All right, I'll get you out. But first, we gotta get her out of this rain – don't want her to catch cold, right?"

There was long pause.

"Right."

The crunching of leaves began again, growing closer and closer until she saw Zelos duck out from behind a large bush. He looked up quickly, smirking his crooked smile at her.

"Oh, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty!" He teased, straightening himself up and holding back the bush to help a tall, thin man through. "Hey Sheena, how ya feelin'?"

"Er…" She began, looking away. "What happened…?"

Zelos laughed, placing his hands on his hips. "You mean you don't remember?" He chided playfully. "This idiot hit you with an arrow on accident. It was in pretty deep – but I used healing Artes…so you should be okay with some rest…" He pointed behind him at the mention of the tall, thin man, who donned a worried look as she stared up at him.

"Sorry…" he mumbled. "I was trying to shoot a rabbit, and I was so caught up with it, I guess I didn't see you there. I overshot the damn thing and hit you instead." He explained.

Sheena opened her mouth to speak.

"Yeah, yeah, a likely story…" Zelos retorted waving his hand dismissively at the man. "Anyway, I got him to take us outta this forest! You'll be home in no time, and I can go home and take a shower…" He ran his fingers through his wild, untamed red hair, sighing.

"Here is no place to rest, though." The man explained. "I'll take you to my home before going to see Lady."

"Lady…?" Sheena asked, slowly6 cocking her head to one side.

"All will be explained when we arrive at my home." The man bowed respectfully. "The rain is too hard right now for us to stay outside with someone hurt. Come with me."

"Gotcha." Zelos nodded, smirking, then proceeding to Sheena in order to pick her up.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Sheena exclaimed, moving to inch away from him but stopping when the pain overtook her leg.

"Pfft, like you can walk." Zelos rolled his eyes, smirking and crouching down. "Don't be stubborn, Sheena – I'm doing it because you're hurt."

She was too tired and in pain to argue.

With that, Zelos threw the thick blanket over his shoulder before lifting her into his arms delicately.

"Doesn't mean I won't like it." He smirked and winked at her.

She rolled her eyes.

"Follow me." The man, pulling his quiver of arrows over his shoulder, smiled and guided them deeper into the forest.

He ducked behind one of the large bushes, snapping a few twigs underneath his boots.

"She's hurt, Andreyella." He whispered, rubbing his hands together. "He's very upset at that man for hurting her. But, I don't think that man meant it, do you? Of course not!" He chuckled. "He really cares about her, you know. I can see it."

He smiled and snickered to himself. A strong wind blew his dark silver hair into his eyes.

"I'll take care of them. You'll see, Andreyella. I'll do very well."

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**Nexus: I think that this was more of a bridge chapter than anything. To tell you the truth, I had most of this done when I posted the second chapter yesterday...And I worked myself into such a big Sheelos tizzy yesterday, that I just started writing! XD Well, hope you liked it!**

**Review? :D?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: The Threads Tighten Around Us**

**Author: NexustehULF0o

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**DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN.

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**Nexus: Chapter 4 is up! Yay! Sorry it took so long. XD

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"So, lemme get this straight."

A few stray billows from the fire's dying coals escaped the chimney, floating into the large cabin room. Two long couches stretched along both sides of the wall, separated by a large wooden coffee table that currently supported a few plates holding an assortment of hors d'oeuvres and a lukewarm cup of coffee.

Zelos ran his hand through his wet red hair, looking to the animal skin mat underneath his feet.

"Your name is Andraste. You're a hunter and you live here in this forest. There's also some old lady around here that thinks she's really a witch. You're telling me that _you_ don't know how to get out of this forest, but the old lady - "

"Lady."

"And – wait, what?"

The archer picked up his cup of coffee. "Just Lady." He interrupted before sipping and grimacing at its lack of heat.

" – Lady. Whatever. 'Lady', does. And you're going to take us to her and SHE'LL take us outta this forest."

"Yes." Andraste nodded, placing his mug back on the table with a small thud of china against wood. "Although I cannot guarantee that Lady will show you the way out. She is very picky about those she meets."

Zelos rolled his eyes. "Oh, great." He mused. "You hearing this, Sheena? We'll be stuck here because the ol' bat won't remember how to get out of this damn forest."

The redhead turned to see his companion reclining delicately on the couch next to him. Her head lobbed to one side and her eyes were shut lightly, her mouth somewhat agape.

"She's tired." Andraste mused, standing. "Not only did the wound bleed profusely, but the adrenaline of staying awake has probably left her exhausted. She'll be better with a night's rest."

Zelos looked up, standing as well.

"S'pose you're right. It's late, and I don't think this rain's gonna stop any time soon." He agreed. Andraste nodded.

"I'll show you to the guest room, then."

Zelos watched warily as Andraste calmly turned his back to him, waiting for the redhead to lift the girl into his arms before leading them into a small, dark room big enough for one bed and a nightstand, as well as a small chest sitting in the corner. A large window looked over the headboard. The archer waited for Zelos to gently lower Sheena into the bed before leaving the two and closing the door.

Zelos smiled weakly for the motionless girl next to him as he tried his best to remove the comforter from underneath her without waking her. He knew she wasn't watching, but he felt it was necessary anyway for her to get well.

"Look, Sheena, I…" He muttered under his breath, the smile quickly fading from his face once he had the cover safely over her shoulders. He carefully reached out to touch her. "I…I'm sorry. You've kept the faith in me so long, and I…I just keep screwin' up." He cringed for a moment, pulling his hand away before balling it and his other hand into vicious, violent fists.

"But I'll make it up to you. One of these days, just know that I will." He watched her, his voice wavering, but confident. "If it's the only thing I ever do for you."

He was silent for a moment, reflecting on what he just said as the rain picked up outside the open window.

Zelos shook his head, then rubbing the back of it with one of his hands.

"Goddess, that idiot's rubbed off on me. I can't believe it…"

With that thought, he moved to the other side of the bed and carefully lay on it, far enough away from her that she wouldn't be frightened in the morning but close enough that all of him actually rested on the firm mattress.

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He awoke with a sharp intake of breath.

Zelos' eyes shot open in panic, unsure what had caused him to awaken. It was still dark outside, the only noises being a quiet rustle of the wind blowing a tree or the rhythmic drops of rain hitting the muddy ground below.

Why was he awake…?

Wait.

Something was touching him. Something gentle –it almost felt like nothing at all.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, thunder crackling harshly through the air moments after.

He turned his head after the sides of his sleeveless black shirt tightened around him, watching the ninja tense at the sound of the boom. Her two hands held tight to the sides of his shirt, grasping him tightly with her eyes shut tight. A pained look crossed her face.

He was rudely reminded of the terrible trials he'd witnessed at the Temple of Lightning, causing Sheena's fear. Volt, on both accounts that Sheena had attempted to make pacts with him, had decimated Sheena to a raw, bloody core. She withdrew into herself for a solid month or two after the loss of Corrine – and although Zelos kept up a carefree front in order to help her, the rest of the party scolded him and babied her along through it. She'd never fully recovered from it. Ever since then, lightning terrified her. And…to see her in so much agony like that…he didn't blame her…

The reminiscence left a bad taste lingering in his mouth…or he had been sleeping with his it open. One of the two – he hoped the former.

Her fingers loosened on his shirt as she calmed back down, and he carefully wriggled himself free of her grasp. Turning over, he watched the hurt expression fade into tranquility, and she heaved in another soft breath through her nose. She exhaled heavily, unconsciously scooting closer to him. He smiled weakly for her, even if he wasn't watching him, and carefully brushed the damp black hair that had been splayed across her face away. He ran his finger lightly across her cheek, chuckling to himself.

"You're gonna hate me in the morning for this, but…I can at least do this much for you." He told her in a light whisper, softly lifting his head on top of hers and contentedly closing his eyes, reaching across and gently swaddling her in his embrace.

The rain and thunder only got worse from that moment on, but lightning, for the remainder of the night, did not trouble Sheena Fujibayashi.

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**Nexus: LOL So it's a fluffy chapter. XD Along with everyone's favorite angst!Zelos along for the ride. Hopefully the net chapter will be longer as I try to explain more about Andreyella and her…shall we say, worshipper. XD Reviews are welcome! Kthx. **


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